U.S. updates guidance for the shipping industry on tactics used to illegally procure Iranian oil for Syria

On Monday, March 25, 2019, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) updated the advisory document it published in November 2018 on the risks for parties involved in petroleum shipments to Syria. The update adds to the list of deceptive shipping practices used to obfuscate the destination of petroleum bound for Syria and the measures that members of the petroleum shipping community can take to mitigate these risks. This guidance follows the United States’ continuing efforts to isolate the Assad regime and its supporters from the global financial and trade system and cut supplies of Iranian oil into Syria.